JUSTICE IS PRICELESS. KNOWLEDGE IS PRICELESS. DIGNITY IS PRICELESS.

For twelve years, the Global Center for Women and Justice (GCWJ) at Vanguard University has provided training and resources to enable leaders to promote justice for women and girls. This year we are proud to present our 3rd annual luncheon hosted by the GCWJ at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. The GCWJ is dedicated to the education and training of individuals to be knowledgeable and effective within local and global human trafficking task forces and focuses on intervention and prevention work. The center works with students, educators, law enforcement, healthcare and community leaders to end human trafficking and cyber-exploitation of women and children in Orange County and world-wide.

The Priceless Luncheon is the annual fundraiser for this center within our University, and is run with the help of volunteers from our student body and community. This year the event is fundraising for the following three areas:

Live2Free Student Club: Vanguard students give presentations to local middle and high school students about the issues of human trafficking. Funds will support educational materials and local travel costs for the students.

Frontline Freedom Training: The Frontline Freedom Training Initiative will provide training to "child serving professionals". i.e. teachers, school-based professionals, juvenile probation officers, school nurses, pediatric healthcare providers, child welfare, etc. The focus is to identify those who work directly with at rick children but have little or no training to identify and intervene in cases of human trafficking. It will also provide scholarships to the annual Ensure Justice Conference where professionals including judges, probation officers, CASA volunteers, educational leaders, law enforcement officers and social workers receive further training.

Global Partnerships: The Global Center for Women & Justice has two global opportunities for 2015-2016. They will travel to Romania to do training for aftercare and service providers for exploited and at risk children, youth and single moms. They will also return to Iraq to serve Yazidis women in the Duhok region who have returned from being held by ISIS. College students will have an opportunity to go to Romania, but will not visit Iraq.

Volunteer roles include helping with set-up, registration, ushering, passing out and collecting information, and clean-up. For details on each role, please contact Katie Heemstra (information below).